I excitedly picked up my March/April copy of mental_floss today, lured in by what the titled promised; “The Genius Guide to Success.”

I read through the pages, enjoying each tip, strategy and idea that came from top achieves in our society both, past and present. Then, found myself on page 36 where MF cited the idea of practicing and how it applies to successful execution. Some interesting things came out of this section of the article as it exposed the habits of top performers. I outline these below:

Glen Gould, pianist : Preferred to practice mentally. Believing that he performed best when he didn’t touch a piano for a month.

Nik Wallenda, tightrope walker : Practiced 3-4 hours a day before walking between two Chicago skyscrapers.

Eminem, rapper : Read the dictionary 2-3 hours every day in order to improve his vocabulary and rhyming skills.

After looking at all these practice habits by top performers, you may be wondering what the commonality is. Well, this secret is hidden in plain sight. The answer is not found in the amount of practice they sustained rather, what they practiced. They all zeroed in on the main skill or technique that would give them the edge. They focused in on the routine that worked best for sharpening their skills. Then, they refined it over and over and over again. Something else you may pull from this is the shift in perspective from practice as work, to practice as refinement. Essentially, that’s what you’re doing when you are rehearsing a key skill. You are refining it in order to embed quality habits so that the practitioner is able to call on these skills at a moments notice with a limited amount of risk.

In conclusion, we learn that top performers take sharpening key skills, seriously. They, as we should, look for the ONE skill that will give them the greatest benefit. Therein, allowing them to access this skill at any time under any amount of pressure. This makes them quick, efficient and the best. Ultimately, in order for this to work we need to clear the clutter that takes up a lot of our time and focus on the main skill that will leverage a competitive advantage. By doing this we can soon see ourselves among the greats in our society.
With Appreciation,

Do you know what music education theory is? Well, MET is a complicated way of describing the concepts and building blocks of teaching music. There are different ways of approaching the teaching of music. This is dependent on each individual student and their needs. The teacher is the one really in charge as the guide to support the targets for the student. The teacher must then construct the adequate building blocks that will support the vision the student has in mind. Success is achieved when the student reaches a point at they feel like they’ve achieved the vision in their mind.

Here is more by Eddie Tobey:

Music education is a concept mainly dealing with the employment of education methods in teaching and learning music. There is a theory behind every concept, which underlines a principle.

Music education theory is the basis for either teaching or learning music. Basically, music education theory is a study of the elements or rudiments of music. As we know, music consists of certain basic elements, which should be studied before proceeding further. A pre-requisite to learning is that the matter of study should be interesting and any drabness associated with it should be alleviated first.

The music education theory helps in standardizing music as a field of study. This is useful to maintain a minimum standard for music so that it gains due recognition than just a hobby.

Moreover, music education theory explains the rudiments of music clearly so that the foundation is strong for a learner of music. Only if a learner is strong in the basics, will he or she be in a position to appreciate music.

Another utility of music education theory is that it guides a user to apply the correct form at the right place. The theory can be applied to any function, like composing, singing, playing an instrument, reviewing and more.

Audiation is an area of music where the listener does not listen to the music at the surface level. It refers to the function of grasping the exact meaning of the words and also analyzing what the music conveys and why the song written in such a way. It is a deep-rooted study, applying the music theory.

Prior to the establishment of a standard or theory, music was learned either by rote or listening by ear. The religious Psalms were among the first songs to be learned through these methods.

Music theory helps you in understanding and appreciating the fineness of music by thoroughly learning its theoretical elements like sound, pitch, harmony, melody, notation, and rhythm.

Have you ever reach a point of great effort when climbing a mountain? Well, maybe you’ve never climbed a mountain but, metaphorically speaking, have you?

This same feeling occurred when I reached over 10 hours of playing the violin in a single 48 hour period. You might have some questions regarding the authenticity of this statement that I fully intend to clear up.

Playing Time Outline

Friday

Practice: 1 Hour

Video: 30mins

Performance One: 2 Hours

Performance Two : 2 Hours

Total: 5.5 hours of playing time

Saturday

Practice: 1 hour

Video: 30mins

Performance One: 2 Hours

Performance Two : 2 Hours

Performance Three: 1 Hour

Total: 6.5 hours of playing time

Total Hour Accumulation: 12 Hours of Playing Time

Here is my tip to players of any age or level; pace yourself and concentrate on being relaxed.

Now, I would not recommend this type of behavior for any elongated period of time. But I think it still can be character building. Just like you wouldn’t want to climb a mountain every day, every once in a while will give your great insights to your strength and mental capacity. Playing violin for long periods of time allows your to understand your limits and how to push through them. As stated before, it’s imperative to keep relaxed and your posture intact as not to gain injury from this activity.

Throughout the process I kept thinking of new ways to play in order to establish a more relaxed approach to something I had played differently in the past. What this did is open my mind to new ways of thinking about each song that I play. In other words, playing for this long enable (or forced) my mind to open up into new ares of technical flexibility. Just like when you are working out and don’t think you can go any long. When you finally push through your perceived limits, you find new strength and energy you didn’t know you embodied. While playing, I found this same strength.

Intelligently, I kept known beneficial arm and hand stretches at the ready in-between each long jot of playing. This allowed my hands and arms to not stiffen when at rest, as sometimes can happen — muscle constriction after intense stress. I also maintained a steady diet of high protein and water. The protein was to keep my muscles building and nutritionally supported. The water was to keep flushing any toxins that may results from the stress of overwork.

I learned that you can do anything you set your mind to. Allow for proven tools to come into play and for better ways to establish. My major take-away here is that you are always ready to do and be more if you’ve prepared in a way that supports your dreams.
With Appreciation,

I was inspired to write this letter to you after reading the article in The Kansas City Star titled “Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts, not a piano purchase, are to blame for Kansas budget woes” by Barbara Shelly.

As an artist/musician myself, I firmly believe that music education is important for the future development of children. Students who have early musical training develop areas of the brain related to language and reasoning. When learning music, students are constantly using their memory to perform. The skill of memorization serves students well in education and beyond. In order to become accomplished in music, practice is imperative. This helps students to develop discipline in order for their musical works to sound good. Plus, they experience a sense of achievement when mastering even the smallest goal in music. Hand-eye coordination is improved and increased when practicing with musical instruments and motor skills are also developed, just like playing sports. The list of benefits goes on and on.

While the article seemed to focus on the large purchase price of the grand piano for the Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences, I would hate to see this used as a reason to divert funding away from music education in schools. I certainly can see your point in using funds more practically to help more students by hiring another teacher, reducing class sizes and improving academic achievement. But, as noted in the article, the piano purchase is a long-term investment. Perhaps there could’ve been a better use for the money that could benefit more students. But my vote would be to continue using funds for music education. Our children need another outlet for self-expression which also has benefits for their own personal growth and society. More children interested in music and the arts keeps them off the streets and focused on positive uses of their free time.

Thank you for taking the time to receive my thoughts about the importance of music education in the future development of children. As a successful young artist, I can personally attest to the benefits that music and music education have played in my life.

The 2015 collaboration project DiM13NSiON is an ambient-electronic project with Cedric Theys of Mad Ducks Records that utilizes the 8-string guitar and 5-string violin, respectively. At this juncture we have recorded over 6 hours material and two live shows under our belt as we learn to expand out minds and technical abilities to accommodate the ever-expanding sound exploration. As a results of this expanding, I have been required to open my ears to the possibilities that are available when you do so.

Collaborating is an interesting process, as it challenges your preconceived notions of what music should be and how it should sound. This is a result of playing with someone that approaches the creative process in their own unique way. Therefore, there are two way we can handle this: 1. Be closed off to their perspective 2. Be open and learn from their perspective. By collaborating you are privy to a new way of looking at melodies, textures and layering. You will start to develop knew contributions to the collaboration as you assimilate concepts and ideas from the other person.

Throughout this process I have felt that due to this required opening of ears that my ears have been expanding to hear different ways of contributing, a side benefit of a wider creative listening. By allowing myself to listen, versus simply hearing, I open myself to fresh creative channels that aid in steering the direction of the musical conversation. The growth of the collaboration is completely interdependent on the listening of each contributor. This growth this enabled when the listening becomes deep and innovative. This is done when each player takes risks in order to push the envelope, allowing for new creative roads to be paved.

Top 4 Tips for Collaboration Expansion

Listen to the other person more than yourself.

Listen for new ideas that you can apply to your own contribution.

Think win-win contribution to melodies, harmonies and rhythms.

Strive to support the other player more than attempting to feature yourself.

Toddlers are interesting little human beings. They are SUPER creative, curious, and bright. Toddlers mean well, but still seem to leave a road of destruction in the wake of walking through a room. But regardless of their organization skills, they are still the light that illuminates our future. They too, need support in creative endeavors — like playing the violin!

Many people are trying to find out things that are of interest to their children and teaching them these things at a very young age. Because kids are like sponges, the earlier they can begin learning specific things, they better they are at them. You can use a DVD to teach violin to your toddler. You don’t even have to know how to play yourself. You can get a beginning violin instruction program and help your child learn at home. All you have to do is follow the instructions given in the program. You will know shortly whether your child has an interest in the violin or not.

Top 5 Ways to Introduce Your Toddler to the Violin

Live concerts

Music games with and instructor

DVD of fun violin concerts

Bring a Musician in your home to perform for your child

Buy a toy violin for your child to try out

If they show an interest and want to keep learning, you can find a private instructor to help them develop their talent even further later on. If they don’t take to the violin, you can always introduce them to other instruments and outlets of creativity.

In this post I’m going to answer this question by giving you 3 tips to make you play the violin like nobody else!

Read on…

Playing the violin is really the art of noticing the nuance. For every nuance movement, sound and adjustment that you notice to improve your playing is the key to your success as a player. So, before you get started on these 3 tips make sure you understand that awareness of nuance is your first step towards success.

Become an active listener. There is a drastic difference between active listening and passive listening. Passive listen is when you are listening to the music playing in the grocery store. Active listening is when you are singing at the top of your voice in the car to your favorite song. You are engaged with the music when you are actively listening. When you play the violin, become an active listen. Engage your mind in the sound that is being create. Listen to where the music takes you, the tune, the beat, and the melody.

Play all the time. The more you play the better you get. You can’t do you best unless you know everything about what you’re doing. Play, play and yes, play! Think of it as if you were spending time with a person; the more time you spend with them the better you know them. Play during your free time if you can. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t practice. Improvise as you go along. It will teach you to listen to what the music tells you to do. Close your eyes while you play as well, force yourself to concentrate.

Stretch yourself. Keep reaching for harder pieces to play. Look for more complicated exercises to work on. And, more of all, try something that you think is “our of your league” every once in a while. When you continuously reach past where you think you can go, you might surprise yourself. So keep reaching, keep stretching and, never stop exploring.